Preparing For The Journey (Part II)
October 3rd, 2005 by Salem
Chapter 3 (Part II) - In the Sacred Shrine of the Blades in the cavernous main temple, activity has been raised 3 fold as the black hooded monks of the temple run all over the black mirror like marble floor. The Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters, Salem and Selene, are to leave the temple once again. A young woman dressed in the uniform of a Blade Hopeful comes running through the crowded halls and passageways, her arms filled with large bags. She finally makes it to the huge monolith like front doors and out into the yard where the Twins are being helped with their 2 horses. Darkwind, Selene’s black Arabian had been on journeys many times with them before and is now somewhat of an old pro at it. Selene knows she could depend on Darkwind wherever they go. Syntax, the new horse, a Marwari from the Shrine’s stables will be Salem’s. Salem hated to replace Blackfrost, but he is now too old. Blackfrost will stay and enjoy the rest of his days in the open fields behind the Shrine of the Blades looking at all the young female horses and having all he wants to eat. It is time for Darkwind to be the mentor, and Syntax had proven his worth time and time again with the monks who tend the stables.
The young girl runs up to them as the twins place their saddles on the backs of Darkwind and Syntax. “Wait!!” yelled the girl, “I am coming too!!” Selene looks at Salem who takes the girl by the hand and leads her to the shade of a nearby tree. “I am sorry Christina, but this is another journey we cannot take you on”, Salem tells the young platinum haired girl. The girl starts to cry, “You said I could join you and Selene on a trip one day! Why are you two always going on dangerous journeys I cannot go?! I want to go on this one!” Salem places her hand on Christina’s mouth, “We do not want to risk you on a journey like this. We are going farther then we have been before and this time, it looks like even the power of the Blades may not be enough!” “Because the KingBlade was stolen, I understand! But I still want to go. I can beat Tram on anything and Jowl said I had talent beyond anything she has ever seen in a Blade Hopeful!” interrupted Christina. Salem lets her head fall, then she picks up her head to look at the young Blade Hopeful in the eyes, “We will be traveling with Death himself. I do not what you to see Death. Death is not a person I want you to meet at all. So it is best you stay here and look after the Blade Animals for me and Selene.” Christina stood there with the wind playing with her silvery hair and her bags, now falling out of her arms. Christina begins to cry but tries to keep it in, hoping that it will show some sign that she is ready for a journey with the twins. Salem leaves her under the tree as she goes back to strapping her saddle on Syntax.
Next to the Twins and their horses is a large pile of supplies and 5 of the 8 Blades the twins have chosen. The EarthBlade causing the ground under it to crater due to its massive weight, the TsunamiBlade, the MirrorBlade, the SaberBlade, and lastly the GullBlade. A folded tent, sleeping cots, firewood, a map, and months worth of supplies were piled behind the Blades and lay waiting for the twins to collect them. Suddenly, a large brown barn owl appeared out of thin air flying over the 7 foot tall pile of supplies but no noise was made as it landed on Selene’s saddle on Darkwind’s back. The owl had some kind of silver lining on every one of his feathers and a clear gemstone on its chest in the middle of a small breast plate. This was Knight and his ShroudBlade that made him invisible. The power of the ShroudBlade with Knight’s natural owl’s ability to fly with out making a sound made him perfect for sending and receiving notes especially when deep in enemy territory. This time, Knight has a rolled note in his silver lined claw. Selene took the note and unrolled it to read. It was clearly written in blood. “It that human skin he wrote it on?” asked Salem as she turned to keep herself from vomiting. “He knows the KingBlade was taken. He is asking us to go check the Chamber of the KingBlade in his swamp”, explained Selene to her sister. “We have to go see Death now before we find others to be masters of the other five Blades”, continued Salem. With this, Knight leaped into the air and with only one wing flap, Knight had turned invisible once again.
The Twin HexBlade Masters were ready; Selene takes the pendant that was hanging on her chain and places it in her mouth as she gives a blow but no sound. From the top of the Sacred Shrine Rook flying with Pawn in his golden covered talons. Rook flies over Salem and drops Pawn in to the outstretched waiting arms of Salem as he lands on Selene’s saddle. Salem takes her pet to the supply pile and sets him down. “Do your thing my pet”, instructs Salem. Pawn looks at the large pile then begins to yawn, as the small ferret opens his mouth a small black spot appears floating about a foot in front of the masked small animal. As Pawn opens his little mouth wider the little black spot grows to the size of a door. Along with the black void is also a sound of a deafening waterfall as an unseen force starts to pull the individual packages on the pile into the void. After only a minute the pile was no more and all that was left was the grassy ground. Pawn closes his mouth and the large round void also gets smaller and smaller until it was completely gone. Pawn turns and runs up the body of his master to rest on her shoulders. “You sucked up the map too”, reminded Selene. “Oops”, Salem turns to her pet, “The map please, Pawn.” The rodent lazily picks his head up from Salem’s shoulder and gives a little yawn and a small spot again appears just a foot in front of his head but a sound much like sand running down an hourglass could be heard and the map falls out of the small void and is caught by Selene. “Thank you”, compliments Selene as she opens the map and consults it. Salem pets Pawn on his head as thanks for a job well done.
Half the people who worked and lived in the Sacred Shrine were lining the yard to the front gates to wish the Twins a good journey and to get a last took at them until they return. The Twin HexBlade Masters mount up on their horses with Rook on Selene’s saddle and Pawn still on Salem’s shoulders. They start slowly to the exit as Syntax, who has never been off the temple grounds, tries to head back to the stables but is quickly corrected by Darkwind’s snort of disapproval. Monks, Blade Hopefuls, Teachers, and even a few town folk were cheering and flower petals were being thrown as the twins came closer and closer to the exit. Pawn starts to flinch on Salem’s shoulder making Salem think that that Pawn was just having trouble staying on her shoulder as she was waving with her arm held up high to the people saying goodbye but it was something else. Pawn jumps off her shoulders and stands on top of Syntax’s head. Shaking as if he were cold, Pawn then lets out a yawn opening the void in front of them and out of the void comes flying a mechanical seagull. Pawn closes his mouth once again and lies on Syntax’s head as if all the energy had just left his little body as the silver and gold seagull circles over their heads.
Everyone’s eyes fixed on the flying object until it lands and starts to look at one person in the crowd. Almost everyone has seen this happen before. A Blade has found its master. The GullBlade opens up its long wings as a surrounding light starts to come from the mechanical seagull, then it starts to fix into a single beam until it is aimed at the forehead of a Blade Hopeful. The crowd moves away from the chosen person and both Salem and Selene get off their horses to see who just got the Wind element Blade. The scene was a mess as people moved away from the new Blade Master and tried to get out of the way of the twins as they make their way through the crowd. And there she stood with the GullBlade in her hands. The Blade Hopeful with long platinum hair named Christina is now a new Blade Master. The Twins look at the new master and then give a sigh.
The twins are riding their horses out of the gate as the crowd waves them a farewell, and lagging behind trying with all of her might to stay on her horse is Christina in a Blade Master’s uniform on Skyclap, who looks to be very amused by what is going on on his back. GullBlade flies just over Christina’s head as the 3 leave the temple ground and finally the city to the open road to the Dead Swamp where they will find Death.